The Vancouver Island Party Advocates A Guaranteed Annual Income for British Columbia

The Vancouver Island Party Advocates A Guaranteed Annual Income for British Columbia

Poverty is costing British Columbia in so many hidden ways. Increased medical, criminal, judicial, penal, and addiction costs. The high poverty rate also affects children directly compounding their futures with insurmountable hurdles.

The current welfare rate is unacceptable. The Vancouver Island Party is advocating a guaranteed annual income. This Income, which people could apply for, would be indexed to inflation, location and cost of living. It would help senior citizens to improve their living conditions. British Columbia is one of highest in the country for child poverty and the island is one of the worst in the province. This would go a long way to ending child poverty.

The guaranteed annual income is a safety net and the objective of this net is to keep people from falling through the cracks. This safety net would eliminate the previous welfare model. This program would be available to Canadian citizens who have spent four years in British Columbia. Should an applicant move to a higher indexed jurisdiction they would have to wait for a year to apply for the increased guaranteed annual income. The cost of living and the cost of locations will have to be sought to get fair numbers.

We would have to also determine the incentives to work.
For instance a graduated claw back would begin once you earn 100% of the annual income. At 1.5 fold income assistance would get to zero support.

Something like the first dollar you earn after you keep 99% of the annual income, and when you reach 1.5 fold of the living wage, you earn only get 1% assistance. The idea being that people would still want to work, unless otherwise prevented from doing so.
Lets talk a bit more about this.